League to Save Lake Tahoe gets $235,000 donation

The League to Save Lake Tahoe was granted $35,000 by the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation to support its land-use planning program. The foundation also added $200,000 to their endowment with the League.

“The grant strengthens our ability to closely monitor development plans and projects for compliance with the Tahoe regional plan’s strong environmental requirements,” said Darcie Goodman Collins. “We can then pass this information on to community members, empowering them to participate actively in the planning process. We are also thrilled by the endowment donation, which ensures the organization’s long-term sustainability and strength, allowing us to build on our 60-year legacy of success.”

Clarence E. Heller was a San Francisco civic leader and philanthropist who was the president of the League’s board during the passage of the 1987 regional plan. He served on the board from 1975 until his death in 1988. He served as president from 1986 to 1987. In 2006, the foundation established the Clarence E Heller Endowment, the League’s largest endowment.

As Tahoe’s oldest and largest environmental watchdog, one of the League’s top priorities is to ensure regional development planning that protects and enhances Tahoe’s environment. The land-use planning program includes three components: strong advocacy through policy analysis and public comments, community engagement and education on important policy issues, and collaboration with Tahoe stakeholders and agencies to find solutions to sticky issues such as wetland restoration policies.

Specifically, the $35,000 grant enables the League to strengthen its area plan work. Area plans are unique to Tahoe, and allow for each community to develop design standards, within the zoning regulations provided by the new regional plan, to reflect the wants and needs of that community. The League is already advocating for improvements in the following areas:

· Public transportation planning
· Environmental targets
· Identified stormwater management projects
· Identified opportunities to restore sensitive land
· Identification and protection of open space
· Enforcement of Best Management Practices (BMP) installation and maintenance policies
· Monitoring and maintenance of stormwater management efforts
· Information on how ridgeline and shoreline views will be protected

The Heller Foundation's mission is to protect and improve the quality of life through support of programs in the environment, human health, education and the arts. The give grants to three program areas: Environment and Health, Education and Music. To learn more about the Clarence E. Heller Foundation, visit www.cehcf.org.